Commanders QB Jayden Daniels brutal elbow injury vs. Cowboys

Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered what looked to be a significant injury at the end of the first half of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

class="wp-block-paragraph">He was carted off the field in clear pain with a left elbow injury. The Commanders ruled him out with an elbow injury shortly after. Backup Marcus Mariota took over in the second half.

class="wp-block-paragraph">After the 37-20 loss to Dallas, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn confirmed the elbow dislocation but said there was no fracture. Daniels is set to fly home from Dallas with the Commanders. He’ll have more imaging done on the elbow on Monday.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Daniels also dislocated his left elbow last season, which eventually cut his 2025 campaign short.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Daniels slipped taking the final snap of the first half — it looked like guard Chris Paul stepped on Daniels foot right after the snap — and he stuck out his arm to brace himself. That’s when the injury occurred.

class="wp-block-paragraph">His elbow looked out of place after watching the replay.

#JaydenDaniels@Commanders By video, clear left elbow dislocation Similar to last season Joint comes out easier 2nd time Original ligament tear heals "looser" Will be ruled OUT 2nd half #WASvsDALpic.twitter.com/777bekF7pC

— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) September 20, 2026Daniels tried to finish the play and failed to convert a shovel pass to Rachaad White. Then he started to walk to the sideline before dropping to the turf.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Overall, this is disastrous news for the Commanders and their quarterback, who was excellent in the first half.

Jayden Daniels leaves the field on the cart with big brace/cast on left arm pic.twitter.com/998dOkxsnC

— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 20, 2026Please check back for updates on this developing story.